


The Happy Prince - No.6

by orphan_account



Category: No. 6 - All Media Types, No. 6 - Asano Atsuko
Genre: Angst, Happy Prince, M/M, No.6 AU, Oscar Wilde - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-31
Updated: 2014-05-31
Packaged: 2018-01-27 16:14:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1716788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>ShionxNezumi AU where they are part of Oscar Wilde's "The Happy Prince" - just a little adaptation....</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Happy Prince - No.6

High above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the Happy Prince. He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold, for eyes he had two large rubies, and a large red snake, with a dazzling emerald head, decorated the prince’s torso.

He was very much admired indeed. 'Why can't you be like the Happy Prince?' asked a sensible mother of her little boy who was crying for the moon. 'The Happy Prince never dreams of crying for anything.'

'I am glad there is someone in the world who is quite happy', muttered a poor man from the western block of the rich and prosperous town.

'He looks just like an angel,' said the young children as they came out of the schoolyards in their uniformed cloaks, and their clean white pinafores.

'How do you know?' said the stern teacher, 'you have never seen one.'

'Ah! But we have, in our dreams,' answered the children; and the teacher frowned and looked very severe, for he did not approve of children dreaming.

One night there scattered through the shadows of the city a little Mouse. His friends had long since left him, since he had been the only one to escape the frightening blaze that destroyed his home. He had found himself mourning his family and friends much longer than he may have wished and had resolved in moving on with his life as soon as possible.

He had tried to move on.

'Shall I love you little Mouse?’ said the Swallow who had only recently made acquaintance with the little Mouse. The Mouse replied with a dubious smirk. The unknowing Swallow quickly became infatuated with the little Mouse and flew round and round him, assisting him in all his dishonest and sly endeavours. This was their courtship, and the Mouse found her to be quite useful during the long summer.

 'It is a ridiculous attachment,' the Mouse muttered to himself ‘I have no money, and am merely using her to advance my causes and cure my boredom' and indeed the Mouse had made use of the Swallow’s ability to get into the most precariously placed places on many occasions. But when autumn came the Swallow flew away to the second region and left the Mouse lonesome.

After the Swallow had gone the little Mouse felt alone, and memories of his friends and family began to haunt him once more.

‘That Swallow had no conversation anyway,' he said reassuringly to himself, 'and I am afraid that since the Swallow has left for No.2, it is time for me to be moving on again.’ The Mouse loved to travel and set out on his journey once more.

All day long he travelled great distances on his small feet, and at night-time he finally arrived at the city. 'Where shall I put up?' he said 'I hope the town has made preparations.'

Then he saw the statue on the tall column. 'I will put up there,' he cried; 'it is a fine position with plenty of fresh air.' So he climbed up and positioned himself just between the feet of the Happy Prince.

'I have a golden bedroom,' he said softly to himself as he looked round, and he prepared to go to sleep; but just as he was putting his head down to rest, a large drop of water fell on him. 'What a curious thing!' he cried, 'there is not a single cloud in the sky, the stars are quite clear and bright, and yet it is raining. The climate in the sixth region is really dreadful. The Swallow used to like the rain, but that was merely her selfishness.'

Then another drop fell.

'What is the use of a statue if it cannot keep the rain off?' he said; 'I must look for a good chimney-pot,' and he determined to find shelter elsewhere.

But before he had sat up, a third drop fell, and he looked upwards, and saw - Ah! What did he see?

The eyes of the Happy Prince were filled with tears, and tears were running down his golden cheeks. His face was so beautiful in the moonlight that the little Mouse was filled with pity.

'Who are you?' he said.

'I am the Happy Prince.'

'Why are you weeping then?' asked the Mouse; 'you have quite drenched me.'

'When I was alive and had a human heart,' answered the statue, 'I did not know what tears were, for I lived in the Palace of Chronos where sorrow is not allowed to enter. In the daytime I played with my companions in the twilight garden, and in the evening I led the dance in the Great Moon Drop. Round the city ran a very lofty wall, but I never cared to ask what lay beyond it, everything about me was so beautiful. My courtiers called me the Happy Prince, and happy indeed I was, if pleasure be happiness. So I lived, and so I died. And now that I am dead they have set me up here so high that I can see all the ugliness and all the misery of my city, and though my heart is made of lead yet I cannot choose but weep.'

'What, is he not solid gold?' said the Mouse softly to himself, but loud enough that the Happy Prince would be sure to catch his sarcastic remark.

     'Far away,' continued the statue in a low musical voice, 'far away in a little street there is a poor house. One of the windows is open, and through it I can see a woman seated at a table. Her face is thin and worn, and she has coarse, red hands, all pricked by the needle, for she is a seamstress. She is embroidering Aster flowers on a satin gown for the loveliest of the Queen's maids-of-honour to wear at the next Moon Drop-ball. In a bed in the corner of the room her little boy is lying ill. He has a fever, and is asking for oranges. His mother has nothing to give him but river water, so he is crying. Mouse, Mouse, little Mouse, will you not bring her the Emerald out of my snake? My feet are fastened to this pedestal and I cannot move.'

     'I am waited for in No.4,' lied the Mouse. 'My friends are swimming up and down the Nile, and talking to the large lotus flowers. Soon they will go to sleep in the tomb of the great King. The King is there himself in his painted coffin. He is wrapped in yellow linen, and embalmed with spices. Round his neck is a chain of pale green jade, and his hands are like withered leaves.'

'Mouse, Mouse, little Mouse,' said the Prince, ‘will you not stay with me for one night, and be my messenger? The boy is so thirsty, and the mother so sad.’

'I don't think I like boys,' answered the Mouse. 'Last summer, when I was staying on the river, there were two rude boys, the miller's sons, who were always throwing stones at me. They never hit me, of course; we mice are far too nimble for that, and besides, I come of a family famous for its agility; but still, men strive to kill mice and I shall not help those who would kill me in an instant.’

But the Happy Prince looked so sad that the little Mouse was sorry. 'It is very cold here,' he said 'but I will stay with you for one night your _Majesty_ , and be your messenger.'

'Thank you, little Mouse,' said the Prince.

So the Mouse picked out the brilliant emerald from the snakes head, and hurried away with it in his mouth through the darkened alleyways of the town.

He passed by the cathedral tower, where the white marble angels were sculptured. He passed by the palace and heard the sound of dancing. A beautiful girl came out on the balcony with her lover. 'How wonderful the stars are,' he said to her, ‘and how wonderful is the power of love!' 'I hope my dress will be ready in time for the Moon Drop-ball,' she answered; 'I have ordered Asters to be embroidered on it; but the seamstresses are so lazy.'

He swam across the river, and saw the lanterns hanging to the masts of the ships. He passed through the town of lost people, and saw the old Jews bargaining with each other, and weighing out money in copper scales. At last he came to the poor house and looked in. The boy was tossing feverishly on his bed, and the mother had fallen asleep, she was so tired. In he hopped, and laid the great Emerald on the table beside the woman's thimble. Then he moved quietly towards the bed, and sung the boy a lovely song which would calm his soul and able him to rest easy. 'How at peace I am,' said the boy, 'I must be getting better;' and he sank into a delicious slumber.

Then the Mouse travelled back to the Happy Prince, and told him what he had done. 'It is curious,' he remarked, 'but I feel quite warm now, although it is so cold.'

'That is because you have done a good action,' said the Prince. And the little Mouse began to think, and then he fell asleep. Thinking always made him sleepy.

When day broke, he went down to the river and had a bath.

'What an abhorrent phenomenon,' said the Professor of Nosology as he was passing over the bridge. 'A mouse in No.6!' And he wrote a long letter of discontent to the Health Bureau through the local newspaper. Every one quoted it; it was full of so many words that they could not understand.

'To-night I leave' said the Mouse, and he was in high spirits at the prospect. He had visited all the public monuments, and sat a long time on top of the church steeple. However, wherever he went out to admire the city, he would be harassed by the townsfolk, 'What a disgusting vermin!' they would cry. He did not enjoy himself very much.

When the moon rose he went back to the Happy Prince. 'Have you any commissions for the fourth region?' he cried; 'I am just starting.'

'Mouse, Mouse, little Mouse,' said the Prince, 'will you not stay with me one night longer?'

'I am waited for in No.4,' answered the Mouse, deciding against telling the Happy Prince about his experiences within the city. ‘To-morrow my friends will climb up to the Second Cataract. The river-horse couches there among the bulrushes, and on a great granite throne sits the God Memnon. All night long he watches the stars, and when the morning star shines he utters one cry of joy, and then he is silent. At noon the yellow lions come down to the water's edge to drink. They have eyes like green beryls, and their roar is louder than the roar of the cataract.'

     'Mouse, Mouse, little Mouse,' said the Prince, ‘far away across the city I see a young man in an attic. He is leaning over a desk covered with papers, and in a tumbler by his side there is a bunch of withered violets. His hair is brown and crisp, and his lips are red as a pomegranate, and he has large and dreamy eyes. He is trying to finish a play for the Director of the Theatre, but he is too cold to write any more. There is no fire in the grate, and hunger has made him faint.'

'I will wait with you one night longer’ said the Mouse who, despite his hatred for men, really had a good heart. 'Shall I take him another emerald?'

'Alas! I have no emerald now,' said the Prince; 'my eyes are all that I have left. They are made of rare rubies, which were brought out of India a thousand years ago. Pluck out one of them and take it to him. He will sell it to the jeweller, and buy food and firewood, and finish his play.'

'Dear Prince,' said the Mouse, 'I cannot do that;' and he began to weep.

'Mouse, Mouse, little Mouse,' said the Prince, 'do as I command you.'

“As you wish, your Majesty.”

So the Mouse clawed out the Prince's eye, and scattered away to the student's garret. It was easy enough to get in, as there was a hole in the wall. Through this he darted, and came into the room. The young man had his head buried in his hands, so he did not hear the pitter-patter of the Mouse’s feet, and when he looked up he found the beautiful ruby lying on the withered violets.

'I am beginning to be appreciated,' he cried; 'this is from some great admirer. Now I can finish my play,' and he looked quite happy.

The next day the Mouse went down to the harbour. He sat on the mast of a large vessel and watched the sailors hauling big chests out of the hold with ropes. 'Heave a-hoy!' they shouted as each chest came up. 'I am leaving!' cried the Mouse, but nobody minded, and when the moon rose he travelled back to the Happy Prince.

     'I am come to bid you good-bye,' he cried.

     'Mouse, Mouse, little Mouse,' said the Prince, ‘will you not stay with me one night longer?'

'It is winter,' answered the Mouse, ‘and the chill snow will soon be here. In No.4 the sun is warm on the green palm-trees, and the crocodiles lie in the mud and look lazily about them. I am to build lodging in the Temple of Baalbec, and the pink and white doves shall watch me in my endeavour and coo to me from up above. Dear Prince, I must leave you, but I will never forget you, and next spring I will bring you back two beautiful jewels in place of those you have given away. The ruby shall be redder than a red rose, and the emerald shall be as green as the luscious grass of the twilight garden.

'In the square below,' said the Happy Prince, 'there stands a little match-girl. She has let her matches fall in the gutter, and they are all spoiled. Her father will beat her if she does not bring home some money, and she is crying. She has no shoes or stockings, and her little head is bare. Pluck out my other eye, and give it to her, and her father will not beat her.

'I will stay with you one night longer,' said the Mouse, ‘but I cannot pluck out your eye. You would be quite blind then.'

'Mouse, Mouse, little Mouse,' said the Prince, 'do as I command you.'

“…As you wish, your Majesty.”

So he plucked out the Prince's other eye, and darted down with it. He swooped past the match-girl, and slipped the jewel into the palm of her hand. 'What a lovely bit of glass,' cried the little girl; and she ran home, laughing.

Then the Mouse came back to the Prince. 'You are blind now,' he said, 'so I will stay with you always.'

'No, little Mouse,' said the poor Prince, 'you must go away to the fourth region.'

'I will stay with you always,' said the Mouse, and he slept at the Prince's feet.

All the next day he sat on the Prince's shoulder, and told him stories of what he had seen in strange lands. He told him of the red ibises, who stand in long rows on the banks of the Nile, and catch gold fish in their beaks; of the Sphinx, who is as old as the world itself, and lives in the desert, and knows everything; of the merchants, who walk slowly by the side of their camels, and carry amber beads in their hands; of the King of the Mountains of the Moon, who is as black as ebony, and worships a large crystal; of the great green snake that sleeps in a palm-tree, and has twenty priests to feed it with honey-cakes; and of the pygmies who sail over a big lake on large flat leaves, and are always at war with the butterflies.

'Dear little Mouse,' said the Prince, 'you tell me of marvellous things, but more marvellous than anything is the suffering of men and of women. There is no Mystery so great as Misery. Scour my city, little Mouse, and tell me what you see there.'

So the Mouse scoured through the great city, and saw the rich making merry in their beautiful houses, while the beggars were sitting outside the wall. He went into dark lanes, and saw the white faces of starving children looking out listlessly at the black streets. Under the archway of a bridge two little boys were lying in one another's arms to try and keep themselves warm. 'How hungry we are' they said. 'You must not lie here,' shouted the Watchman, and they wandered out into the rain.

'I am covered with fine gold,' said the Prince, 'you must take it off, leaf by leaf, and give it to my poor; the living always think that gold can make them happy.'

Leaf after leaf of the fine gold the Mouse picked off, till the Happy Prince looked quite dull and grey. Leaf after leaf of the fine gold he brought to the poor and the children's faces grew rosier, and they laughed and played games in the street. 'We have bread now' they cried.

Then the snow came, and after the snow came the frost. The streets looked as if they were made of silver, they were so bright and glistening; long icicles like crystal daggers hung down from the eaves of the houses, everybody went about in furs, and the little boys wore scarlet caps and skated on the ice.

The poor little Mouse grew colder and colder, but he would not leave the Prince, he loved him too well. He picked up crumbs outside the baker's door when the baker was not looking, and tried to keep himself warm.

But at last he knew that he was going to die. He had just strength to climb up to the Prince's shoulder once more. 'Good-bye, your Majesty!' he murmured, 'will you let me kiss your hand?'

'I am glad that you are going to the fourth region at last, little Mouse,' said the Prince, 'you have stayed too long here; but you must kiss me on the lips, for I love you.'

'It is not to No.4 that I am going,' said the Mouse. ‘I am going to the House of Death. Death is the brother of Sleep, is he not?'

And he kissed the Happy Prince on the lips, and fell down dead at his feet.

At that moment a curious crack sounded inside the statue, as if something had broken. The fact is that the leaden heart had snapped right in two. It certainly was a dreadfully hard frost.

Early the next morning the Mayor was walking in the square below in company with the Town Councillors. As they passed the column he looked up at the statue: 'Dear me! How shabby the Happy Prince looks!' he said.

'How shabby indeed!' cried the Town Councillors, who always agreed with the Mayor, and they went up to look at it.

'The head of his snake has vanished, his eyes are gone, and he is golden no longer,' said the Mayor; 'in fact, he is little better than a beggar!'

'Little better than a beggar,' said the Town Councillors.

'And there is actually a dead rodent at his feet,' continued the Mayor. 'We must really issue a proclamation that vermin are not to be allowed to die here.' And the Town Clerk made a note of the suggestion.

So they pulled down the statue of the Happy Prince. 'As he is no longer beautiful he is no longer useful,' said the Art Professor at the University.

Then they melted the statue in a furnace, and the Mayor held a meeting of the Corporation to decide what was to be done with the metal. 'We must have another statue, of course,' he said, 'and it shall be a statue of myself.'

'Of myself,' said each of the Town Councillors, and they quarrelled. When I last heard of them they were quarrelling still.

'What a strange thing!' said the overseer of the workmen at the foundry. ‘This broken lead heart will not melt in the furnace. We must throw it away.' So they threw it on a dust-heap where the dead mouse was also lying.

'Bring me the two most precious things in the city,' said God to one of His Angels; and the Angel brought Him the leaden heart and the dead rodent.

'You have rightly chosen,' said God, ‘for in my garden of Paradise this little Mouse shall sing for evermore, and in my city of gold the Happy Prince shall praise me.'

**Author's Note:**

> I hated the fact that nobody realised how well the happy prince and no.6 went together. The Happy prince was mentioned in the anime of No.6 and so i put this thing together. its pretty crap and its the first thing ive put up, but i hope its enjoyable enough to read.... :)


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